Board Mentoring Program FAQ

Board Mentoring Program FAQ

This program provides students with the experience of participating on a Board of Directors for a local nonprofit organization, which will give students an opportunity to get involved with and make a difference in the local community, help students develop their leadership skills, learn about the challenges in leading nonprofits, learn important skills and responsibilities (e.g., fiduciary responsibilities), and provide experience in working in team and small groups.

Many students want to work in or with nonprofit organizations after college for various reasons. Serving on a nonprofit Board of Directors is a great way to become more involved with issues you care about, while building skills for your résumé.

This experience provides perspective on how nonprofit organizations are ran in a way that is different from serving as a staff person or program volunteer. Board members can become professional colleagues, community contacts, friends, and references.

Student participation on a non-profit board helps to diversify the perspectives and voices participating on the board, helps the non-profit bridge generational gaps, and infuses new information and student talent.

Students can participate as a volunteer opportunity to build their résumés or earn 1 credit per quarter for their work to be counted toward their LDST minor or for WWU upper division credit.

Students should be at least Sophomore standing and must commit to serving on the board for a minimum of 6-9 months (e.g., bridging some consecutive combination of fall, winter, spring or summer) quarters.

No, not specifically.  However, students are encouraged, but not required, to enroll in LDST 416:Leadership in Nonprofits/Social Change in Communities of (for Human Services majors HSP 435:  Human Service Organizations prior to engaging in this program. If the student does not enroll in LDST 416 or HSP 435, they should consult with the Leadership Institute about equivalent orientation activities prior to enrolling in the program.

Students who want to earn 1 academic credit for each quarter of participation (up to 4 credits, 4 quarters) must complete an application for LDST 341 . Upon approval you will receive a registration override. Once students are informed they have received the registration override, it is the student’s responsibility to register for the course. The student needs to let the Institute for Leadership know each quarter whether they want to earn course credit or not.
  1. Contact the nonprofit organization(s) you are interested in working with to apply (max 3, see list below), and follow their application process (likely to require an application and résumé).  Be prepared to interview with these organizations as you would for any job. Organizations will contact you with their decision. Students can only accept one board membership and must convey their decision to the nonprofit and Leadership Institute.
  2. Upon selection by an organization, complete the following:
  3. Please read the FAQs.

If students enroll in LDST 341 to earn credit for this opportunity, students can earn 1 credit per quarter of participation, which requires approximately 4 hours of work each week (or 40 hours over the quarter, each quarter).  If you are participating in this program for credit and are enrolled in LDST 341, grading rubrics will be available on Canvas. LDST 341 is a letter graded (A-F) course. To earn credit, students will complete the assignments related to LDST 341, which include weekly written updates, a mid-term and final quarter meeting with the LDST 341 course instructor, a final reflection paper and portfolio. Mentors will complete a mid-term and final evaluation, including participation in a meeting with the student and the LDST 341 course instructor.

Participating in board meetings does not provide sufficient hourly work to satisfy the required 4 hours/week to earn 1 credit over the course of a quarter. Students will also engage in various tasks to prepare for board membership and learn about the nonprofit, to be determined between the student and the nonprofit mentor. These takes may include:

  • Participating in the nonprofit organization’s orientation for board members (if one exists).
  • Assessing the services the nonprofit provides and the need for them in the region.
  • Reviewing the history and promotional materials of the nonprofit to learn about and describe their services, clientele, and local/national participation.
  • Learning more about state guidelines (i.e., educating and training) for people participating in charitable nonprofits by reading materials and engaging in webinars provided by Washington state at: https://www.sos.wa.gov/charities/training/ .
  • Conducting informational interviews with other members of the board of directors.
  • Conducting informational interviews with staff members of the nonprofit.
  • Job shadowing staff members of the nonprofit.
  • Volunteering for the nonprofit in delivering their services or assisting at events.
  • Review of financial materials (e.g., yearly reports).
  • Conducting an assessment of similar, “competing” nonprofits in the area.
  • Assessing their social media needs/abilities to develop a social media plan (but not doing this support weekly).

(Other tasks may be eligible for consideration with approval from the Institute for Leadership.)

Many of these tasks require coordination with your chosen nonprofit organization and some may not be possible depending on the capacity of your chosen mentor. Be polite in asking about the tasks you would like to work on to see if your host nonprofit can accommodate the task and is willing to coordinate. Mentor schedules may not be able to accommodate last minute additions or changes, so be mindful when scheduling and considerate in keeping commitments.

Students may participate in the Nonprofit Board Mentoring Program without receiving academic credit.  The basic expectations of student board members remain the same (i.e., attending monthly board meetings, living up to the agreements between you and your board mentor).  However, it is not necessary to engage in the 4 hours of homework/academic tasks each week to fulfill 40 hours over the 10-week quarter.

Students will be responsible for sending an application and résumé to up to three of the nonprofits that are listed as participating organizations on the Leadership Institute’s website.

The nonprofits will go through whatever selection process they deem fit (e.g., scheduling an interview, having the applicant meet with the Board of Directors) and will select the student if they feel it is a good fit.  (It is up to the nonprofit if they want only on student at a time or can accommodate more than one student.)  If the student receives more than one invitation, it is the student’s responsibility to select only one nonprofit and notify the Leadership Institute.

It is also the student’s responsibility to get the LDST 341 application to representatives of the nonprofit for them to finalize the application.  Also, the new student board member should complete any paperwork (contract, photo release form, etc.) required by the nonprofit.

Absolutely! In some cases, this makes finding a great fit even easier to do.

The nonprofits have been given the timeline for applications.  If you have not heard from the nonprofits that you have applied to, be professional and call or email them to ask about the status of the application two or three days after the deadline has passed.  If you still have not received an invitation to join a board, talk to the coordinator at the Leadership Institute for assistance.

The coordinator at the Leadership Institute will keep track of which students are assigned to which nonprofits.  A student who has not been invited to join a board their choice, they will be told which nonprofits are without student participants, and they can apply to them with an accelerated placement process.

No. Almost all nonprofit boards are comprised of volunteers so it is unlikely that you would be paid for your participation.

Yes. Some organizations have the financial resources to support their student board members and are allowed to do so. That may be in the form of a small, one-time stipend, or hourly work.

Maybe. Talk with the director in the Leadership Institute about responsibilities and time commitments to ensure there is significant distinction between employee duties and curricular expectations for earning credit.

No.  The nonprofit organizations who are participating in this program understand you are a student, and they do not expect you to donate any money.  If you do make a contribution, that is a personal choice and has nothing to do with the Leadership Institute, your grade for LDST 341, or your degree at WWU.

Most participating nonprofits are in Bellingham or Whatcom County.  Some non-profits hold their board meetings at their offices, others utilize space elsewhere.  The student will be responsible for all transportation related to the Practicum experience.  Check the nonprofit’s website before applying to be sure you are able to get to both the office and board meeting site.

If something happens that is out of your control and you need to drop out of the Practicum, be professional and contact both the Leadership Institute and the mentor/board contact to notify them of the situation.  If you are taking the Practicum for credit you will need to contact the course instructor and follow the deadlines and requirements of the Registrar’s Office to add/drop courses. Depending on when you decide to drop the course, you may be at risk of failing the course and losing money. Refer to WWU’s important dates and deadlines, to fully understand possible fees and refund procedures.

When you sign the contract you are making a professional agreement with both the Leadership Institute and the nonprofit to see through your commitment.  If you want to drop out because you feel it is too much work to participate, please contact the Leadership Institute first to see if its possible to balance the workload or get assistance before officially quitting.

The agreement is that the student will serve for a minimum of 6-9 months, but up to 1 additional quarter (including summer). After this period, the student will no longer be a Practicum participant with the support of the Leadership Institute. At that time, the nonprofit may invite the student to join the board of directors as a proper voting member if they choose.

Students participating in this program are encouraged to meet regularly as a group to share experiences and learn from peers, however this is not a required component of the program. These opportunities would be scheduled independently by student participants and any time spent would count towards the 40 hours needed for LDST 341 credit. Discussion material could be used in weekly reflection journals and final reflection essay. Other opportunities for learning and interaction may become available throughout the quarter; the Leadership Institute will forward relevant information to student participants.

This Practicum is designed to be an introductory professional experience for upper-division students.  Students are expected to be mature individuals who take initiative to better themselves. Further, students are expected to utilize communication skills to engage with non-profit organization members and other community constituents, and fully participate in opportunities and activities to broaden their experiences.

Schedule time to meet with other board members to talk over coffee (or virtually due to safety precautions): find out what they do, what their background is, why they have chosen to serve on the board, what goals they have for their own participation on the board. Engage with the non-profit in as  many activities and events as possible. Volunteer at in-person or virtual events when possible. Leaders engage in lifelong learning, and grow by placing themselves in situations that challenge them, and by surrounding themselves with people they can learn from. Many believe that joining a non-profit board of directors is a reflection of being a community leader.

This experience can be a transformational learning experience and it depends on you to take responsibility to engage.